<![CDATA[Background: Clinical placement in community mental health settings is a critical component of psychiatric nursing education, providing opportunities for direct interaction with individuals living with mental illness. However, evidence regarding nursing students' first experiences in Community Mental Health Centers remains limited, particularly concerning the challenges encountered and the influence of these experiences on stigma, therapeutic communication, and professional growth. To explore nursing students' first clinical experiences with psychiatric patients in Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) and understand how these experiences influenced their perceptions, learning, and professional development. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Face-to-face, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 72 final-year nursing students who had completed their psychiatric nursing clinical placement in a Community Mental Health Center. Interview data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological method. Result: Four overarching categories emerged: (1) emotions during clinical practice, (2) challenges encountered during practice, (3) perceived benefits of Community Mental Health Centers, and (4) contributions of psychiatric nursing practice to students' professional development. These categories comprised 15 subthemes reflecting emotional responses, communication challenges, knowledge acquisition, stigma reduction, appreciation of the role of Community Mental Health Centers, and the development of therapeutic communication, empathy, and professional skills. Initial feelings of fear, anxiety, and prejudice gradually evolved into greater confidence, empathy, and positive attitudes following direct engagement with patients. Conclusion: First clinical experiences in Community Mental Health Centers play a pivotal role in shaping nursing students' professional competence and attitudes toward people with mental illness. Meaningful patient interactions foster therapeutic communication, reduce stigma, enhance empathy, and strengthen psychiatric nursing knowledge and skills. Strengthening community-based psychiatric clinical education may better prepare future nurses to deliver person-centered mental health care.]]>
